2019-2020 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog [Archived Catalog]
Cooperative Degrees Program
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Return to: School of Social Work
http://www.socialwork.pitt.edu/academics/master-social-work-msw
In addition to the MSW and PhD degrees, graduate students in the School of Social Work have the opportunity to select from several unique dual degree programs. MSW students can avail themselves of one of the eight joint or cooperative degree programs; two joint degree programs are available to PhD students.
Detailed below are joint degree programs offered by the School of Social Work in tandem with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, the Graduate School of Public Health, the School of Law, the School of Education, the School of Business, and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
MSW/Master of Public Administration, MSW/Master of Public and International Affairs, and MSW/Master of International Development
Three unique joint degree programs are offered by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, through its COSA concentration, and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. These joint programs provide students with a broad professional education to prepare them for eventual service in urban non-profit and government organizations, community development policy, and social and urban planning. They provide experienced students with opportunities to expand their knowledge base and enable other students to develop more marketable professional skills than are usually acquired through single-degree programs. Students in these joint programs earn a Master of Social Work from the School of Social Work and a Master of Public Administration, Master of Public and International Affairs or a Master of International Development from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Students must be admitted to both programs in order to qualify for admission to the joint degree program. Degree candidates must meet the minimum foundation, concentration, and specialized requirements of both schools, except where substitutions are appropriate and approved by the faculty advisors. Depending upon which joint degree program the student elects, the total number of credits required for graduation ranges from 72 to 88 credits. For most students, this means that individual programs can be completed within six to seven terms of full-time residency. Students electing to terminate the joint degree program before its completion must complete all the work required by the respective schools for either degree in order to receive that degree separately.
The easiest way to apply to the Master’s Degree in Social Work Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work is to use our online application.
University of Pittsburgh
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Office of Admissions
3601 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-648-7640
www.gspia.pitt.edu
MSW/Master of Public Health program
The MSW/MPH program requires a three year curriculum plan. Students will complete the required core courses in both the MSW and the MPH program. Selected required courses from each program will count as elective courses toward the degree in the other program. A reciprocal agreement between both programs with regards to the acceptance of student electives will facilitate effective curriculum planning.
The total number of credits to be taken will be 86 (50 in Social Work, and 36 in GSPH). Students will be required to complete two field placements (one in the first year and one in the second) as required by the MSW program, and as is consistent with the practicum requirements of the MPH program.
The second field placement will have a public health emphasis and count as the required MPH practicum experience. All students will be required to complete the GSPH Capstone course, and complete an essay as required by the MPH program. Students will be assigned faculty advisors from both SSW and GSPH and these advisors will work collaboratively with the student to plan the academic course of study.
Upon completion of the joint degree program, the student would receive the Master of Public Health and the Master of Social Work degrees from the respective schools. The curriculum is established in an effort to have the requirements for both degrees met by having certain classes at one school fulfill requirements at the other.
The efficient way to apply to the Master’s Degree in Social Work Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work is to use our online application.
For more information on the MSW/MPH program please contact:
University of Pittsburgh
School of Social Work
Office of Admissions
2104 Cathedral of Learning
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 624-6302
E-mail: sswadmissions@pitt.edu
MSW/Juris Doctorate
The School of Social Work (SSW) and the School of Law offer a cooperative educational program through which students may earn both the Master of Social Work (MSW), the primary professional degree in social work, and the Juris Doctor (JD) degree, the first professional degree in law. The MSW-JD program will enable students with interests in a wide range of areas where law and social work converge - such as child welfare, aging, health, mental health, juvenile and criminal justice, family issues, and housing - to engage in a highly integrative educational experience that will include academic courses, field placements, and research opportunities at the intersection of both professions. The joint degree program allows one to earn both degrees in four years rather than five.
Increasingly, social work professionals and attorneys are working together to promote the well-being of their clients. These areas of convergence exist in practice with individuals, families, and groups as well as with communities and organizations. The intersection of legal and social work concerns is also evident at the policy level, and research from both professional disciplines has been used to inform these activities. It is not uncommon for practitioners from both fields to work in concert to draft, implement, and/or advocate for legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.
The MSW-JD program is one among several programs that the Schools of Social Work and Law have jointly established throughout their long and rich history of collaboration.
Neither degree may be granted prior to fulfillment of all requirements for the joint degree program.
Faculty Advisors
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Professor Kevin Deasy, MSW, JD
3900 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 648-5642
deasy@pitt.edu
University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
Professor Jeffrey Shook, MSW, JD, PhD
2117 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 648-9365
jes98@pitt.edu
Master of Social Work/Master of Business Administration
Faced with an increasingly competitive market, nonprofit organizations are beginning to emulate management methods and paradigms being practiced by for-profit companies, such as financial operations, human resource and data management, market and economic analysis, and evidence-based strategic planning. As philanthropic organizations become more concerned about their accountability and utility of financial supports provided to various human service organizations, they are beginning to evaluate nonprofits beyond program outcomes or average cost per client to more advanced assessments, such as cost-efficiency and effectiveness and cost-benefit ratio. Unfortunately, such analytic methodologies are rarely offered to social work students by the traditional social work curriculum.
Initially, the proposed MSW/MBA dual-degree program will be open to the SSW’s Community Organization and Social Action (COSA) students. Upon successful execution of this initiative, the school will lean towards opening the program to all MSW full-time students (Direct Practice students included).
Students who want to earn a dual-degree must gain acceptance into both graduate degree programs by applying separately to each school. The joint-degree program applicants will also be required to submit their Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Records Exam (GRE) examination scores to both schools.
Faculty Coordinator:
Dr. Hide Yamatani, Ph.D., MSW, MBA
School of Social Work
University of Pittsburgh
2112 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Requests for further information concerning the Katz Graduate School of Business, see http://www.business.pitt.edu/katz/. Specific questions may be addressed to:
Dr. Rabikar Chatterjee, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
301 Mervis Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Master of Social Work with a Secondary Education Teaching Certificate
Overview
The Master of Social Work with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Teaching in Secondary Education (MSW/CAST) combined program is designed to cultivate school-based practitioners that will have a wide range of skills for supporting vulnerable adolescents and families in urban school contexts. The MSW/CAST curriculum design incorporates the person-in-context approach of social work with culturally relevant secondary teaching methods. As such, graduates will be trained to identify, design, and facilitate programmatic responses to the unique needs of children in schools in urban communities, and also to enhance classroom teaching and student learning through their specialized evidence-based expertise.
The program is efficiently designed to be completed in two years (5 semesters). In the first year the bulk of the courses are taken in the School of Education, as students complete the teaching certification portion of the program. In this time students are trained to be secondary education teachers (grades 7-12) in one of five core disciplines: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language. Students will then shift to the second half of the program, where the bulk of the courses are taken in the School of Social Work and where students will earn an MSW degree over the course of 3 semesters. By combining courses of study in the School of Education and School of Social Work, graduates will:
1) Understand the learning environment of students in the urban settings
3) Understand schools as organizations in context
2) Utilize culturally relevant classroom instruction to promote academic growth of adolescents
4) Facilitate intervention programs and student support services that focus on the social and emotional needs of students
Upon successful completion of this combined program graduates will be awarded a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) from our direct practice concentration, and certifications in secondary school teacher (grades 7-12) and school social work (pending praxis and licensure exams for relevant certifications).
Admissions and Prerequisites
Candidates for this combined program will need to enter having completed sufficient credits at the baccalaureate or higher level in fields relevant to one of the five secondary teaching disciplines: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies or Foreign Language. If a candidate is from a related field and just shy of credits (e.g. political science), they may choose to take relevant courses prior to enrollment. Also, two education courses (6 total credits) are also required as prerequisites and are available the summer before the start of the program (Foundations of Special Education; Teaching English Language Learners). All prerequisites must be met by the start of the first fall semester of year 1.
Interested candidates should apply to the School of Social Work MSW program and the School of Education Instruction 1 program separately, indicating their interest in the MSW/CAST program where asked in the respective application materials. Applicant qualifications for each school will be reflective of the general standards of each individual program. Candidates who are accepted to both programs will be accepted to the combined program, and will be notified and welcomed to the upcoming cohort.
Program Requirements
Coursework. In this uniquely rigorous and efficient program, students will meet an adapted set of the core requirements of both schools, whereby a number of pre-approved courses electives in one program count dually toward course requirements in the other. The total number of credits taken will be 51-54 in Social Work and 22-25 in Education. These credits include required field experiences for both programs.
Fieldwork. The Professional Year (year 1) School of Education field experiences will consist first of ten hours a week during the fall semester observing and teaching in a grade 7-12 classroom alongside an experienced mentor teacher. In the spring semester, the students will complete a full-time student teaching experience in the same classroom. Then in the summer semester following year 1, students will complete their foundation field placement for the School of Social Work. Finally, the concentration field practicum for social work will occur in the fall and spring semesters of year two. This field practicum will be in a primary social work role within a school setting.
Tuition
Students will pay the tuition of whichever school they are enrolled in for the majority of their credits that term. Specifically, fall and spring Year 1 students will pay School of Education tuition, and the remainder of the program will be paid to the School of Social Work. Significant scholarship support is available to students in the program.
Employment
The secondary education focus, along with the 2 calendar year quickened pace, makes MSW/CAST program one-of-a-kind nationally. Upon graduation, students will be prepared to serve either a School Social Worker or a Classroom Teacher. To the teaching profession, graduates bring therapeutic, person-in-context, and family-relations perspectives that will uniquely equip them to build positive relations and supports for students in particularly challenging contexts. Conversely, a school social worker with teacher training will have enhanced skills to support teachers in identifying effective interventions to address psychosocial issues in the classroom. More broadly, a social work with teacher training will be able to construct and deliver instruction more effectively to impact change and understanding amongst his/her clients, colleagues, and staff.
In sum, graduates of this program are uniquely qualified for, although not limited to, work in high need urban educational environments. Ultimately, this degree is a rare and powerful distinction for individuals looking for enhance their preparation and employability in secondary schools.
Contact Us
James Huguley
Assistant Professor
412-624-2542
huguley@pitt.edu
2217G Cathedral of Learning
PhD Joint Degree Programs
The School of Social Work offers two joint degree programs to PhD students: one leading to the MSW and the PhD and another with the Graduate School of Public Health. (Separate applications are required for either MSW or MPH admission.)
ProgramsJoint Degree
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